Slum area family communication in shapeing children’s personality during the Covid-19 pandemic
Sigit Hardiyanto
a,1,*, Muhammad Daffa Gunawan
a,2,, Qarin Ensri Hidayat
a,3a Communication Sciences Study Muhammadiyah University of North Sumatra, Medan, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia
1[email protected] *; 2 [email protected]; 3 [email protected]
* corresponding author
1. Introduction
The current covid-19 pandemic is a frightening specter for families because this virus can cause death if it does not limit social interaction in carrying out various daily activities (Supriyadi et al., 2021). This virus was first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The impact of this virus not only attacks and kills human organs; it also limits the social movements of the community, especially education (Tian et al., 2020). The covid-19 pandemic is felt by almost all humans on this earth, causing negative feelings, especially those related to worry, fear, anxiety and uncertainty.
Major measures such as social distancing is causing disruption of daily habits largely due to changes in work-related activities and closures of educational institutions (Tova Tampe, 2020). Changes in the child's mood and behavior are felt by most mainly referring to boredom, agitation and restlessness (Gaston Aresa, Isabel Bove, Leticia Vidal, Gerónimo Brunet, Darío Fulett, Álvaro Arroyo, 2021)
A B S T R A C T
Article history Received 07-02-2022 Revised 26-05-2022 Accepted 15-07-2022
Frightening specter for families because this virus can cause death if it does not limit social interaction in carrying out various daily activities.
This virus was first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The impact of this virus does not only attack and kill human organs. Among the city's residents, the covid-19 crisis has had a disproportionate impact on residents in slum areas (slum areas), especially in the city of Medan.
The problem that is said to be a crisis can befall a family is when individuals in the family there is a clash of values between family members, especially between parents and children who have different views between generations. This research is a type of qualitative research with a focus of study, especially on how family communication in the slum area of Medan City forms the personality of children during the covid-19 pandemic. The informants in this study were parents who had children at the age of 6-12 years old. Data collection techniques in this study used structured interviews, and documentation. The results of this study can be seen in shaping the child's personality to overcome all actions that violate the rules, then there are several communications built by the slum area family in shaping the development of the child's personality, including messages of advice that are always carried out by parents. Parents in general have an interest in their children by giving attention in the form of advice to their children regarding activities carried out by children in general so that messages conveyed through communication can run well. The advice given by parents usually makes a comparison picture of the good or bad of an activity carried out by the child so that the child can determine the attitude of the advice given by his parents.
This is an open access article under the CC–BY-SA license.
Keywords
Family Communication Slum Area
Child Personality
Among the city's residents, the covid-19 crisis has had a disproportionate impact on residents in slum areas, especially in Medan City, compared to other urban residents, especially slum areas with low and middle incomes. Residents of slum areas who rely on their daily wages in the informal sector to support themselves and their families often face economic problems, especially household food insecurity (Tova Tampe, 2020).
Medan Municipality has an area of 26,510 hectares (265, 10 km²) or less than 4% of the total area of North Sumatra Province. Therefore, if it is measured as an area in the province of North Sumatra, this city has a small area compared to the existing cities/districts, but this city has a fairly densely populated community (Shader, 2020). Judging from the state of the area, the city is located at 3° 30' – 3° 43' North Latitude and 98° 35' - 98° 44' East Longitude and judging from the topographical aspect, the city is seen tilted towards the north and has a height of 2.5- 37.5 meters above sea level.
The essence of the function of the family is basically to maintain, care for and protect children in the context of socialization so that they are able to control themselves and have a social spirit (Shongwe, 2020). The family is a social institution that has the function of socialization, religious education, protection, recreation and social control carried out by the family, but the development of the times has caused the family in modern society to lose some of these (Do et al., 2020).
Departing community life in the city of Medan during the covid-19 pandemic described above.
Social problems that arise in the slum area family during the covid-19 pandemic can usually be caused by factors including selfishness, lack of tolerance, a crisis of trust and especially with the emancipation of women; this assumes that working wives crave a higher position than husbands, wives who often leaving the house will trigger conflict in the family. It is even worse if family needs such as sex, maintenance, the unfulfilled socialization , which can put the child at risk of personality disorders caused by family conflicts (Rothan & Byrareddy, 2020). Children's personality disorders can also be seen as a result of inadequate parental marital conflict indicating that the relationship between the limits of action taken by parents and children has important implications in order to understand the dynamics of behavior in families with children with personality disorders (Salome Vanwoerden, Allison Kalpakci, 2017). Until now, the communication carried out by parents to children is often done by parents, but the lack of supervision causes the main factor for children to unwittingly commit social deviations (Felsenstein & Hedrich, 2020).
The problem that is said to be a crisis can befall a family is if individuals in the family there is a clash of values between family members, especially between parents and children who have different views between generations, for example, such as parents as the old generation and children as young generations who have differences. The term generational difference usually reflects the occurrence of gaps between generations, for example, today's children prefer to take pictures and aspire to become Youtubers or artists, while parents still prioritize formal school education as a path to success. This problem will certainly cause conflict and can cause a rift in the relationship between parents and children. Based on the background of the problem above, the focus of this research is to explain how family communication in the slum area can shape children's personalities during the covid-19 pandemic.
2. Theoretical Framework 2.1. Family Communication
Have we ever thought about the reasons why you should communicate? This question is often overlooked but is important to discuss. William Schutz to Wood (2013) asserts that interpersonal sustainable relationships depend on how well they relate to three basic needs. The first need is affection, namely the desire to give and receive love. The second need is inclusiveness, namely the desire to belong to a certain social group. The third need is control, namely the need to influence people or events in life.
Communication to West Turner (2009) is a social process in which individuals use symbols to create and interpret meaning in their environment. The family is the smallest social unit that provides the primary foundation for child’s development. Meanwhile, the surrounding environment and school contribute to the nuances of the child's development. Because of that, the good or bad
structure of the family and the surrounding community has a good or bad influence on the growth of the child's personality (Kartini Kartono, 2014). The family is essentially the smallest unit as the core of a social system that exists in society. As the smallest unit, the family is a miniature and embryo of various elements of the human social system (Anderson et al., 2021). A conducive family atmosphere will produce good citizens because it is in the family that all family members learn the basics of community life (Kurniawan, 2020). Parents as the key in building a child's personality need to communicate intensely in order to build an effective communication pattern. To strengthen family relationships such as emphasizing the need for relational maintenance, support/care, unified love to interpret the parent-child relationship which has implications for theory and practice (Scharp
& Thomas, 2016).
2.2. Advertising
The relationship between personality and socialization is essentially correlated, because a person's personality cannot be brought from the time he was born. The definition of personality is a person's psychological tendency to perform an action including feelings, will, thoughts, attitudes and behavior that are open or deed (Kelly, MP., Kriznik, N.M., Kinmonth, A.L.,& Fletcher, 2018).
Understanding personality can include three things, namely (Elly M. Setiadi, 2018):
1. It is an abstraction of the pattern of human behavior.
2. Characteristics those are distinctive and consistent as an individual's identity.
3. Discussing the habits, attitudes and values of the distinctive nature possessed by a human being when he relates to other people.
There are four factors that influence the development of a person's personality. The four factors are (Elly M. Setiadi, 2018):
1. Biological heredity. Physically, no human has the same physical characteristics even though he is born with twins, so the biological characteristics of each individual are very different and unique personalities. Physical characters and birth traits are closely related to biogenetic factors (Canli, 2013)
2. Environmental heritage (natural environment). The environment as a means of life is very diverse. For example, the diversity of climate, natural resources and the location of the region (geographically). This difference will greatly affect the character of human personality and culture (Dingemanse, N.J. & Reale, 2013)
3. Social heritage between culture and nature has a reciprocal relationship, it means that nature affects human personality as well as affects nature. The reason for seeing this phenomenon is that geographical factors will greatly influence and determine the character of human life even though many humans adjust their needs from natural conditions.
4. The human group. The smallest group of human life is a family, because it is the smallest social unit. In the family, children are taught about values, norms and matters related to personality (Stangor, 2005).
3. Method
This research is a type of qualitative research with a focus of study, especially on how family communication in the slum areas of Medan City forms the children’s personality during the covid- 19 pandemic (Valunaite Oleskeviciene & Sliogeriene, 2020). The informants in this study were parents who had children at the age of 6-12 years old. Data collection techniques in this study used structured interviews, and documentation.
4. Results and Discussion
In shaping the child's personality to overcome all actions that violate the rules, there are several communications built by the slum area family in shaping the development of the child's personality, including messages of advice that are always carried out by parents. Parents in general have an
interest in their children by giving attention in the form of advice to their children regarding activities carried out by children in general so that messages conveyed through communication can run well. The advice given by parents usually makes a comparison picture of the good or bad of an activity carried out by the child so that the child can determine the attitude of the advice given by his parents.
The difficulties experienced by children will be easily overcome and solved through good and adequate communication (Verd et al., 2021). In this interaction the child will get love, the provision of all the needs that the child needs, acceptance, rules and discipline resulting from a parent's example that can encourage the level of self-confidence competence in performing appropriate roles and is considered appropriate and normal in children environment.
The example of parents is also part of the strategy for developing the character of the child's personality. Indeed, the fruit does not fall far from the tree, which illustrates the similarities in character between parents and children, but the example taken requires a process and must become a habit in the family. Children will accept / imitate / imitate actions that are considered habit obtained from their parents. Parents who are diligent in worship, then the child will imitate the behavior of what is done, the habits of parents who do not smoke, then the children at home will follow that habit.
5. Conclusion
In shaping the child's personality to overcome all actions that violate the rules, there are various means of communication built by the slum community to shape the development of the child's personality, including advice that is always given by parents. Parents generally take an interest in their children by paying attention in the form of advice on children's activities in general, so that the messages conveyed by communication can flow smoothly. Parents' opinions usually make a comparison of the good and bad of an activity carried out by children so that children can determine the attitude of their parents' opinions.
Acknowledgement
Praise and gratitude the author prays to Allah SWT. Thank you to ASPIKOM (Asosiasi Pendidikan Tinggi Ilmu Komunikasi) as the organizer of the 2021 "Youth Communication Day"
activity, the Dean of Communication Science of the Faculty of Social and Political Science UMSU and fellow lecturers. For all the shortcomings of this paper, the authors expect input in the form of criticism and suggestions to build a study of family communication at the slum areas in shaping the children’s personality in the city of Medan. Hopefully this article can be useful for all.
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